Rauchbier

[PT Ray]

I attempted a rauchbier back in Sept. using 2lbs smoked malt for a 6 gallon batch. It was not as intense as I wanted so I went all out and brewed another last night.

10lbs German Smoked
2lbs Munich
1lbs Dark Munich
8oz Dark German crystal
8oz Light German crystal

.4oz Nugget Boil 13.8%
1oz Hallertauer 15 minutes

Bavarian lager yeast

O.G 1.075

Mashed in 1qt/lb at 94 degrees 15 minutes
Heated to 122 degrees 15 minutes
Added .5qt/lb boiling water, raised to 144 degrees 15 minutes
Heated to 156 degrees for 45 minutes
Heated to mash out at 168 degrees

I tried using a high alpha boiling hop to reduce the trub in the kettle, it worked like a charm. The hot break settled in 15 minutes and consisted of a small cluster in the center. Lost volume due to the trub was about a pint. Took a sample for gravity, 1.075. That was the biggest surprise since I was shooting for 1.064. I usually obtain a 75% efficiency, but never 87%. Time will tell how well the final product is.

 

[david_42]

German Smoked must be a very different beast from the Peat Smoked I've used. Just 1/2 lb in a barley wine made mine undrinkable for six months. The smoke is still noticable after 30 months. I used 4 oz. in the current batch and that's about right.

Looks like you should have a very fermentable batch.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I've had hundreds of Rauchbiers at the Schlenkerla in Bamberg, but I don't think they use that much smoked or dark malt. I can only imagine what yours will turn out like.

There's a recipe for Kaiserdom Rauchbier in Clone Brews, pg 81. It only uses 1 lb of Smoked Malt - yours uses 10 lbs! The next malt is 6.6 lbs Ireks Munich Light Malt Syrup.

 

[Dude]

Peat smoked malt and rauch malt are 2 very different animals. I have disliked just about every beer I've tasted with peat malt. Rauch malt is smoked with Beechwood, and in my last batch I used 5 lbs. of it in a porter. When I tasted it this week--well, let's just say I wouldn't use any more than 5 lbs. in a future batch!

Now, that said, I'm also not going to say my tastes won't change eventually.
I used to think 45 IBUs was TOO bitter.

 

[PT Ray]

Several years ago I made a rauchbier using several pounds of homemade smoked malt using hickory and oak. It turned my batch into 5 gallons of liquid smoke and I loved it. After using 2lbs of Weyermanns for the batch back in Sept. it just did not do it for me. The recipes I researched only contained a small portion of smoked malt but Weyermann states their malt can make up to 100% of the grain bill. That was all I needed. Remind you I also love hot food and have gone to the extent of consuming pepper spray just to see if I was missing out on something. Looks like I might be the only one drinking this brew. To each is their own.

 

[Walker]

Remind you I also love hot food and have gone to the extent of consuming pepper spray just to see if I was missing out on something.

wow, man. that's pretty hardcore there.